After violence in Charlottesville, internet firms are erasing bigoted content. But should private companies serve as unaccountable regulators and be responsible for policing complex social issues?

A still from the documentary, Long Time Running, premiering at TIFF next month, captures frontman of the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, as he leads the band through a concert in Vancouver last summer. The writer attended the Tragically Hip’s final tour stop in Kingston, Ont.
(Courtesy of TIFF)August 17, 2017

Hate violence is as diverse and widespread as ever – and its effects are legion.

The tragic 200-year folly of the Crusades attests to the power of culture to shape and sustain strongly held ‘personal’ beliefs.
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Crusade against the Moors of Granada/Wikimedia CommonsApril 20, 2014

There is no gene for bigotry. Bigots are not born, they are made by the people and the society around them. Our brains and minds are shaped by culture. To quote a great American linguist, Edward Sapir…